The 12 Concepts for Crystal Meth Anonymous Explained

C.M.A. Service Trivia

Concept Twelves states: “In all its proceedings, the General Service Conference shall observe the spirit of the CMA tradition, taking care that it never becomes the seat of ________ or _________.” What are the missing words?

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• Perilous wealth
• Power

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Who or what has the final responsibility and authority for C.M.A services?

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• Concept One: Final responsibility and ultimate authority for CMA world services should always reside in the collective conscience of the Fellowship of CMA as a whole.

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What is the active voice and effect conscience of the Fellowship in it’s world affairs?

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• Concept Two: The General Service Conference of CMA

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C.M.A. Service Trivia

What concept identifies the qualities that should be carefully considered when selecting trusted servants?

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• Concept Eleven - While the Trustees hold responsibility for the administration of CMA’s world services, they should always have the assistance of the best possible committees, staffs, consultants, and, if necessary, corporate executives who are not Trustees. Such individuals, whether volunteers or paid employees, should be chosen with care. Serious concern should be given as to how they are selected, what qualifications they possess, and what rights and duties they will have.

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Which Concept ensures that minority opinions are heard and personal grievances carefully considered?

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• Concept Five: Throughout our structure, a traditional “RIGHT OF APPEAL” and a “RIGHT OF PETITION” ought to prevail, thus assuring that minority opinions will be heard and personal grievances will be carefully considered.

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What empowers the Board of Trustees to manage and conduct all of C.M.A.’s General Services?

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• Concept Seven: The Bylaws of Crystal Meth Anonymous is a legal instrument that fully empowers the Board of Trustees to manage and conduct all of CMA’s world services. The Conference Charter itself is NOT a legal document; it relies instead upon the force of tradition and the power of the CMA treasury for its final effectiveness..

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A Different Kind of Organization�

• Crystal Meth Anonymous (CMA) is unusual because the local groups have the most power and make the final decisions about how CMA runs in North America.
• This is different from most organizations where the leaders at the top are in charge.

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How does information flow in CMA?

The Flow:

• Information starts with local CMA groups
• It moves "down" (or through) to the General Service Conference
• Then it goes to the Board of Trustees

How It's Connected:

• Each part of the organization is linked together by trusted servants (people chosen to help communicate and serve).

Important Points:

• The Board of Trustees is part of the General Service Conference
• However, the Board has a special job: they put into action the decisions that the Conference makes
• The Service Manual has separate chapters that explain each part of this diagram and how all the parts work together
• In simpler terms: Local groups send their ideas up through trusted people to the Conference, which makes decisions. Then the Board of Trustees makes those decisions happen.

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Information Flows Both Ways�

It's not just one direction: Information doesn't only go from groups to the Conference and Trustees. It also flows back up to the groups.

Examples of information flowing back to groups:

• Asking for feedback: The Trustees and Conference might ask groups to share their opinions on important issues that affect all of CMA
• Regular updates: Groups should be told about everyday business and activities so they can stay informed and make smart decisions
• Why this matters: Groups need to know what's happening so they can guide CMA properly. Communication works both ways to keep everyone connected and informed.

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A Brief History of the Twelve Concepts

In 1938, AA's founders created a board of trustees (first called the Alcoholic Foundation, renamed the General Service Board in 1954).

As AA grew successfully local AA groups needed help with things they couldn't do on their own, like:

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• Creating books and materials everyone could use
• Telling the public about AA
• Helping new groups get started
• Sharing advice from experienced groups
• Answering requests for help
• Publishing a national magazine
• Bringing AA to other countries and languages

The board followed the guidance of AA's two founders, Bill and Dr. Bob. They worried about who would guide the trustees when they were no longer around. Bill believed the answer was in the collective conscience — the combined wisdom of all the AA groups working together. The challenge was how independent groups spread across the country could work together to make important decisions

Bill W. wrote the Twelve Concepts as a mix (potpourri) of two different kinds of ideas:

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• 1. Spiritual Principles (Concepts III, IV, V, IX, and XII)
• These focus on spiritual values and beliefs
• 2. Practical Organization (The remaining Concepts)
• These explain how different parts of AA's service structure relate to each other. They describe how these parts work together. While they also have some spiritual ideas, they're mainly about the practical side of running AA's services

In simpler terms: Some Concepts are about spiritual values, while others are more like an instruction manual for how AA's organization should operate - though everything has at least some spiritual meaning behind it.

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The Twelve Concepts for Crystal Meth Anonymous�World Service

• In the early years, a group of CMA members got together at a member’s home and wrote the first version of the CMA Service Manual together. This was before we had ever held a General (World at the time) Service Conference!
• The Concepts were based upon the 12 Concepts of Alcoholic’s Anonymous, however, the group worked to adapt them to CMA. The goal was to ensure that the Concepts protected the rights of all CMA members. Thanks to the hard-won experience of AA, CMA was able to ensure that the Board was a Service Board that did not and could not govern.
• In October of 2008, nearly 200 Delegates, Trustees, committee members and six CMA Service Manual members of the fellowship gathered in Park City, Utah, for the first General Service Conference. A Conference Charter was ratified. The Twelve Concepts of Crystal Meth Anonymous was adopted.

Concept One

“Final responsibility and ultimate authority for CMA world services should always reside in the collective conscience of the Fellowship of CMA as a whole.”

“The General Service Conference of CMA has become, for nearly every practical purpose, the active voice and the effective conscience of the Fellowship in its world affairs.”

Concept Two establishes the principle of Responsibility and Authority. The Responsibility and Authority of the General Service Committee (GSC) and the Conference are delegated by the groups.

• Delegation: While individual C.M.A groups hold the ultimate authority, it is impossible for every group to vote on every global issue. Therefore, they delegate administrative authority to their trusted servants at the General Service Conference.
• The Active Voice: The Conference acts as the collective voice and conscience of the entire C.M.A. fellowship. When the Conference votes, it essentially represents the will of all C.M.A. members worldwide.
• The "Inverted Pyramid": Concept Two helps establish an organizational structure where the groups are at the top (holding the real power) and the service boards and delegates are at the bottom—serving as trusted servants rather than governing bodies.

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Concept Two

Concept Three

“To create and ensure effective leadership, we should endow each element of CMA with a traditional “RIGHT OF DECISION,” which allows our trusted servants to decide what matters can be disposed of by themselves and what matters require them to report, consult, or ask for direction..”

“At all responsible levels, we ought to maintain a traditional “RIGHT OF�PARTICIPATION,” allowing our trusted servants voting representation in�reasonable proportion to the responsibility that each must discharge.”

The principle of the 4th Concept, Leadership, guarantees that C.M.A. service members have voting rights proportional to their responsibilities. It balances authority with participation, ensuring those doing the work have a meaningful voice in decisions that affect them, creating fair and effective governance.

Reasons:

• Fair Representation: Those doing the work deserve input in decisions that affect them
• Informed Decision-Making: People closest to the work often have the best insights
• Shared Responsibility: Voting rights match the level of accountability and duty
• Democratic Balance: Prevents concentration of power while ensuring effective governance
• Engagement & Ownership: Encourages active participation and commitment from service workers

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Concept Four

Concept Five

“To create and ensure effective leadership, we should endow each element of CMA with a traditional “RIGHT OF DECISION,” which allows our trusted servants to decide what matters can be disposed of by themselves and what matters require them to report, consult, or ask for direction..”

“Although the General Service Conference has the final decision respecting overall matters of general policy and finance, it recognizes that the chief initiative and active responsibility in most of these matters, especially the day-to-day functioning of CMA’s world services, should be exercised by the Trustees acting together as the Board.”

Group Conscience is the principle of Concept 6. This Concept makes the General Service Committee the primary leadership body for C.M.A. General Services. While the Conference holds ultimate authority, the GSC serves as the active "chief service arm," handling ongoing responsibilities and remaining accountable to the annual Conference.

Reason:

• Centralized Leadership: Provides clear accountability and direction for world services
• Continuity: Trustees serve longer terms, ensuring consistent oversight and institutional memory
• Expertise: Board members can develop specialized knowledge needed for complex service matters
• Efficiency: Allows quick response to urgent matters without waiting for annual Conference
• Legal Responsibility: The GSC holds legal and fiduciary duties that require active management
• Practical Necessity: Day-to-day operations need ongoing leadership, not just annual guidance

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Concept Six

Concept Seven

“The Bylaws of Crystal Meth Anonymous is a legal instrument that fully empowers the Board of Trustees to manage and conduct all of CMA’s world services. The Conference Charter itself is NOT a legal document; it relies instead upon the force of tradition and the power of the CMA treasury for its final effectiveness.”

“Our Board of Trustees is the principal planner and administrator of overall policy�and finance, as decided by the General Service Conference. It also has custodial�oversight of CMA’s separately incorporated service entities, which the Board�exercises by its ability to select the executives of these entities.”

To support the principle of Consideration, the 8th Concept makes trustees the chief planners and overseers of C.M.A.’s General Services, policy, and finances. Trustees maintain oversight by electing service corporation directors, balancing accountability with operational autonomy while ensuring alignment with C.M.A.'s principles.

Reason:

• Clear Responsibility: Trustees serve as the central planning and administrative body
• Financial Stewardship: Ensures careful oversight of C.M.A.'s funds and resources
• Policy Direction: Provides unified leadership for service policies
• Custodial Oversight: Monitors service corporations without micromanaging
• Accountability Structure: Elects directors, maintaining control and responsibility
• Coordination: Ensures all service arms work cohesively together

Concept Eight

Concept Nine

“Good service leadership at all levels is indispensable for our future functioning and safety. Primary world service leadership, once exercised by the founders of CMA and the General Service Committee, must necessarily be assumed by the Board of Trustees.”

“Every service responsibility should be matched by an equal service authority, with�the scope of such authority well defined.”

The principle of the10th Concept is clarity. Concept Ten ensures that service responsibility is matched with equal authority, clearly defined through traditions, job descriptions, or bylaws. This prevents dysfunction by ensuring people have the power to fulfill their duties while maintaining clear boundaries, creating an effective and fair service structure.

Reason:

• Effective Service: People can't perform duties without the authority to act
• Clear Boundaries: Well-defined authority prevents confusion and overreach
• Accountability: Matching responsibility with authority creates clear accountability
• Prevents Frustration: Eliminates situations where people are held responsible without power to act
• Efficiency: Allows service workers to function without constant permission-seeking
• Fair Expectations: Ensures people aren't blamed for failures when they lacked authority to succeed
• Organizational Clarity: Defines roles through traditions, job descriptions, charters, and bylaws

Concept Ten

Concept Eleven

“While the Trustees hold responsibility for the administration of CMA’s world services, they should always have the assistance of the best possible committees, staffs, consultants, and, if necessary, corporate executives who are not Trustees. Such individuals, whether volunteers or paid employees, should be chosen with care. Serious concern should be given as to how they are selected, what qualifications they possess, and what rights and duties they will have..”

“The General Warranties of CMA’s General Service Conference: in all its proceedings, the General Service Conference shall observe the spirit of the CMA tradition, taking care that it never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power; that sufficient operating funds and reserve be its prudent financial principle; that it place none of its members in a position of unqualified authority over any of the others; that it reach all important decisions by discussion, vote and, whenever possible, by substantial unanimity; that its actions never be personally punitive nor an incitement to public controversy; and although it may act for the Fellowship of CMA as a whole, it will never perform acts of government, and it will always remain democratic in thought and action like the Fellowship which it serves.”

Concept Twelve

The principle of the 12th Concept is Guidelines / Selflessness. This concept establishes spiritual and practical safeguards to ensure the Conference remains humble, democratic, and true to C.M.A.'s principles, avoiding the pitfalls of wealth, power, and authority. Concept 12 serves as a spiritual insurance policy, protecting C.M.A. from the dangers that have destroyed other organizations—greed, power struggles, authoritarianism, and controversy. It ensures the Conference remains a servant of the Fellowship, not its master.

Reason:

Humbleness: Prevents accumulation of excessive wealth or power that could corrupt C.M.A.'s mission

Financial Prudence: Maintains adequate but not excessive funds and reserves

Shared Authority: No individual holds absolute power over others

Democratic Process: Important decisions made through discussion and ideally substantial unanimity

Non-Punitive: Actions focus on principles, not punishing individuals

Avoid Controversy: Stays out of public disputes that could harm C.M.A.'s reputation

No Governance: Conference guides but doesn't govern; C.M.A. remains a fellowship, not an organization

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Concept Twelve (cont.)

Thank You